


Cherry

by oloreaa



Category: The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: Gen, a lot of fluff, baby yoda being cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-22
Updated: 2020-08-22
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:07:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,664
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26046247
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oloreaa/pseuds/oloreaa
Summary: Fruit picking with the Child and a helpful Mandalorian. The Child speaks his first word.Cross-posted on Tumblr
Relationships: Din Djarin/Reader, Din Djarin/You, The Mandalorian/Reader, The Mandalorian/You
Comments: 7
Kudos: 111





	Cherry

**Author's Note:**

> I looked at too many GIFs of Baby Yoda so the mushy feelings had to go somewhere.  
> Warnings: none, just fluff, some yearning and cuteness of the baby. Literally, 80% is Baby Yoda eating fruit whilst being adorable

The Razor Crest was somewhere behind you, you and the Child having escaped the stale, recycled air almost the instant the ramp has lowered. You only waited enough for the Mandalorian to give you the Okay for the planet, scooped up the green child in your arms, breathing in the sweet smelling air.  
"Look at that!", you exclaimed, pointing to the woodland around you, bobbing the Child slightly. He babbled excitedly in response, and wriggled so much you had to put him down. Then he was off, his little legs carrying him away like the wind.  
Sighing contentedly, you followed the green little baby, and looked over your shoulder to see where the Mandalorian is.  
He seemed to be doing some check-ups on the ship, and nodded at you when you raised a hand in a small wave. You took it as explicit permission to go explore with the Child.  
The little one pointed up at a hill where some big trees are growing, branches heavy with fruit, and he squealed happily, little teeth showing.  
You grinned at him. "You want to go fruit picking?" Quickly, you scooped him up, turned around, and went back to the Crest. The long grass around you tickled your legs, and you had to carefully push some of the longer ones away from your waist so they don't graze the little one. The Child had picked a bright blue flower that he is examining throughly now, little button nose disappearing into the petals.  
"Do you have something like a basket?", you asked the beskar-covered man as soon as you are back into hearing range.  
He shook his head without looking up.  
A bit disheartened by his nonverbal dismissal, you went back on the ship, crossing the plank in big steps as to going back to not bothering him as quick as possible. It wasn't like you didn't trust him - he has proven again and again that he would protect his Foundling with every fibre of his being, and you by extension, since you are with the green child most of the time. But sometimes, you wanted more.  
You wanted him to care about you as well, as much as the child. But that's selfish thinking, and you know that you should be glad for everything you already had from him.  
Setting the Child down in the inside of the Crest, his dark eyes wide with curiosity, you booped his nose playfully.  
"I gotta find something to carry fruits with when we find some", you explained it to him as you started to look through the crates. None of it contained what you need, being either too large or too bulky to handle, as well as a mixture of both.  
The Child coos, ears pointing upwards, his tiny teeth flashing, and started to waddle towards the bath. Pointing his three-fingered hand into the direction, he looked back at you again.  
"Do you think there is something in there?"  
Following him into the small bath, you found him standing under the shelf that had a few towels in it. He tried to tug a folded one out of the stack, but fell on his little bottom with a soft thud. A gasp escaped him, then an irritated squeak, but since he did not start to cry, you figured everything was all right.  
"Aw, sweetie, did you hurt yourself?", you asked nonetheless, and the little noise he made as answer was more than enough reassurance. Taking out the towel he tried to acquire, you beamed at him.  
"Now, we can go and gather some fruit!" The Child squealed excitedly, dark eyes huge and beautiful. You place him onto your hip again, the towel secured under the other arm.  
Leaving the ship via the ramp, blinded momentarily by the bright sun, you squinted your eyes and called out: "We're going up that hill! There are some fruit trees on top."  
"Alright", came the modulated rasp, acknowledging your endeavour.  
Setting the Child down, he toddled off, going towards the direction of the hill.  
You began the ascending journey up the hill, the sun above you wonderfully warm. It was not a steep climb but you still had to pause several times to let the Child catch up. His huge ears look almost pink with the sun shining against them, and he is huffing adorably due to the exercise.  
You gasped in delight when you got to the highest part of the hill. The long grass swayed softly in the wind around you, the smell of wildflowers and dry earth permeated your nose. You could hear insects buzzing nearby. The Child was shrieking in delight, chasing after some sort of lizard, running - surprisingly fast for the length of his legs - past you.  
The view was beautiful. The sky had a hint of lilac, and the lush woodland below it complemented it perfectly. There was a lake somewhere off in the distance, the reflection glittering prettily. Next to you, the branches of the trees were hanging low, heavy with ripe fruit. The foliage was thick and the leaves had jagged edges, shaped in a five-point star.  
Reaching up, you picked the fist-sized fruit, and inspected it. You recognized it as Jogan fruit, it was sold at a market a few planets ago. The Mandalorian had bought a few of them, but they were not cheap. You remembered how much the Child had liked the sweet juice, eating most of the fruit so you and the Mandalorian had to share a single one.  
"Baby! Look what I found!", you called out, looking around for the big ears poking up, visible through the grass. He dropped the lizard that he had caught, and turned with a cross little expression on his face.  
He evidently just catched the lizard and your distracting call gave it a chance to escape.  
You had to refrain from laughing at his adorably scrunched up nose and the little turned down mouth. "Oh, I'm sorry", you managed to say, trying to keep the giggles in, "but look what I found! Remember these? You liked it a lot", showing him the dark fruit.  
His eyes widened instantly, and he reached out with his hands, making a grabbing motion. You gave it to him, laughing when he started to nibble on the fruit, struggling to hold it up, taking small chunks out of it. The juice seeped out, probably staining his face and fingers, but you decided not to fuss over it. He has enough clothes for one pair to become stained.  
Shaking out the towel, you set it on the ground, and the Child plopped down on it, still holding on to the fruit, eating happily, trilling in delight. Oh, how you wished you had a holo recorder, this was simply adorable.  
Unable to stop smiling, you started to pick some more of the fruits, gathering a few of them in your palm, until they stacked up. Then, you placed them next to the Child who was chewing contentedly, making a little pile.  
The pile steadily grew, until you stopped harvesting the one tree, and moved on to the next one. The Child was still busy gorging himself on the first Jogan fruit, and you decided that you can go a bit further. The next tree had small, red berries that hang higher than the other ones, in thick clusters. You know that these are Nubian cherries, also edible. They were probably brought in by farmers and then just started to proliferate until they also grew in the wild.  
You went to work, reaching for the berries and getting as many as you could carry.  
Alternating between going back and forth between the blanket where the Child was sitting, you carefully put the cherries down next to him. In no time at all, the child also started to eat the cherries, bright pink juice dripping out of his mouth and hands.  
You popped a few of them into your mouth, eating them as you stood up again to collected more. Your fingers and palms slowly become stained pink, along with your lips, the sticky juice clinging to your skin.  
After a short while you heard your name being called.  
"Mando! We're up here!", you called back, and strained, getting on your tiptoes to reach for the next cluster.  
He arrived a few minutes later, almost completely silent. You suspect that you can only hear him because he lets you.  
"We found Jogan fruits", you told him without turning around, still trying to get that one stubborn cherry cluster that is eluding you, "Also these cherries, if we deep freeze them they could last for a whole cycle-", you cut off your own sentence when he stood directly behind you, near enough to almost touch, and picked it for you by reaching over your head.  
You held your breath without realizing it, heat starting to creep up in your cheeks. He was standing so close, you were sure that his chest would brush your back if you exhaled hard enough.  
He then dropped it in your open palm, while you turned your head, and looked at him with flushed cheeks. He was right behind you, almost looming, wrapped around you with without any contact at all.  
You were sure that without the beskar, you would be able to feel his body warmth from the close proximity.  
"Thanks", you managed to choke out, eyes wide and breath shallow.  
His visor tilted a bit, and somehow you get the impression that he is smiling. "How many cherries did you eat?", he asked, voice low and amused.  
(Little did you know that his eyes were trained on your cherry-stained lips, looking entirely too tempting, and a small part in him wished to know if you tasted the same.)  
"How many cherries I-", you started to repeat stupidly, before you pulled yourself together. "I don't really know, five? Six? Most of them are by the little one." You pointed to the green child, shoulders sagging from relief when the Mandalorian turned away from you, his scrutiny now on his Foundling.  
Even though you trusted the man with your life, you could not deny that his presence was often simply overwhelming. It didn't help the small crush you had on him at all.  
Thank the Maker you could at least focus on the Child, or at least use him as a pretense to get the Mandalorian to stop looking at you so intensely.  
He walked to the little one, and kneels, bracing his arm on his leg. The Child looked up at him, beaming, his face smeared with juice, eyes shining. You could feel the love that radiated from the tiny being towards his adopted father, and couldn't help your small smile.  
"Hey, ad'ika", the Mandalorian mumbled, his hand caressing the Child's oversized ears. "You like this?" In response, the Child babbled happily, his ears perking up and teeth becoming visible.  
You went back to picking cherries, letting the Mandalorian and his Foundling having a bit of father-son bonding time.  
Most of the cherries that you could reach have already been picked, and the rest are ones that have gone bad. It must have rained here recently since some of the cherries show signs of bursting. Taking one of the branches, you pulled on it gently in a steady pace, careful not to snap anything or breaking it off. When the branch was low enough, you were able to pick some more clusters.  
The new ones looked even better than the ones you had picked, so you ate some of them, the juice staining your lips red.  
"Which ones do you want?" The Mandalorian asked, suddenly appearing behind you again, startling you. With a yelp, you let go of the branch that you were still holding on, and it snapped upwards, hitting your face in the process.  
"Oh, kriff-", you cursed, hand going to your aching cheek.  
"I- I'm sorry-", he started to apologise, his hands hanging in the air, still outstretched.  
"No, no, it's okay-", you tried to reassure him, waving your had dismissively, "it's my fault, I didn't hear you-"  
"Are you all right? Let me-"  
"Don't worry, it's nothing-"  
He grasped your chin, effectively cutting your rambling short. Turning your face slightly, he pushed the hand you still had on your face away. Observing your reddening skin on the spot where the branch had hit you, tilting his head slightly.  
You didn't dare to breathe.  
A thumb carefully dragged over the throbbing spot, so feather light that you did not truly know if he actually touched you, and you couldn't help the shaky exhale you gave. Eyes still wide, staring up at him, mouth slightly open, gaping. The sunlight reflects off his helmet, the sweet smell of wild grass somehow enhancing the moment. How did he manage to make you fall to pieces this easily? By just being there, not even truly touching you?  
(He stared at you as well, heart leaping, but he told himself that it meant nothing. It had nothing to do with how flustered you looked and how bright your eyes were.)  
"As soon as we get back, you're putting some ice on it", he said firmly, and you couldn't help the soft smile that were on your lips. "Alright", you whisper.  
He let you go, nodded almost awkwardly, and then started to help you harvesting the cherries, his taller frame letting him reach ones you hadn't been able to pick. He reached up and then disposed the fruit in your cupped palms.  
You couldn't help but admire his figure when he was this close, and scolded yourself for having such thoughts.  
When your hands were almost overflowing with cherries, he stopped, and lessened the tension on the branch carefully and gradually until it could snap back as gently as possible.  
"Thanks for helping me", you say, trying to suppress your flush.  
A "You're welcome" came back, his voice warm.  
You started off back towards the blanket, and put the fruits down. Some of them rolled away, towards the Child, who had finished his first Jogan fruit, the pit of it still covered in chunks of fruit since he couldn't coordinate so well yet.  
The Mandalorian approached the towel-turned-picknick-blanket, and sat down next to you.  
"There is more than enough fruit for all of us", you tell both of them, "We could deep freeze them when we go back, or we could eat some here."  
The Child coos at you, smiling brightly. He waddled towards you, hands stained red with sticky juice, and picks up a Jogan fruit. With his heavy bounty he struggled to get to the Mandalorian, but when he arrived at his destination, his ears were pointed up in affection. With a squeak, he rolled the fruit towards his father.  
You observed this with a heart overflowing with love. This was the cutest thing you had ever seen.  
"Thank you, ad'ika", the Mandalorian said, voice rough, tracing the little one's cheek. Closing his eyes, the green child nuzzled into his touch, and garbled something that sounded suspiciously like "dada".  
You and the Mandalorian both look at each other at the same time, faces snapping towards each other.  
"Did he just-?"  
"-yes."  
His entire body language showed his bewilderment, and he sounded overwhelmed, his voice cracking in a way you decided not to comment on.  
He scooped up the Child onto his lap, the lighter fingertips of his gloves showing perfectly how he carries the little one like a fragile bird, the Jogan fruit forgotten on the blanket.  
He then started to talk to him in Mando'a, voice low and full of affection. You had to blink several times to chase the tears away, too touched by the little moment you have been allowed to witness.  
(And if you were pretty sure that the Mandalorian was tearing up while he was speaking to his son, well, no one has to know.)


End file.
